Thursday, September 30, 2010

Okay, look - I work in a fairly formal environment and I see people in suits all day long. Some men know how to wear them and some don't. Suits make some men look like they are James Bond and others like they are waiters at a mid-level restaurant.

I bring this up because the outfits at the GQ Men of the Year Awards are kind of leaning heavily towards the "waiter" end of the spectrum with a few exceptions.

Who wears the suit best? (I'll save my answer for the end.)

Abhishek Bachchan and lovely wife Aishwarya Rai!

Aamir Khan looking kind of schlubby...

Ranbir Kapoor forgot to shave...

Arjun Rampal is two steps away from the Jersey Shore...

Abhay Deol added a chapeau to the outfit...

I appreciate the fact that Naseer was shot horizontally... he is looking very nice, though.

* Gorgeous Aindrita Ray (Manasaare) is moving from Sandalwood to Bengali films and the even more gorgeous Namitha is heading down to Sandalwood.

* Akshay Kumar's ice hockey movie will be released in India, too. I hope this is good because it combines two of my favorite things - Akshay Kumar and ice skating films. Speaking of, why hasn't Akshay remade The Cutting Edge with Katrina Kaif yet?

* Shirish Kunder (grumpily) talks about writing the theme for Tees Maar Khan. I love the man's work but he seems like a really unhappy person.

* Is Vidya Balan doing a cameo in Thank you?! (I bet they wish they had gotten her for the female role instead of Sonam... because Vidya is a professional actress.)

The lady speaks: ""Acting is a lot more challenging [than modeling]. There are a lot more risks, lot more things at stake, and I also think, when a film does well, then there is a lot more sense of satisfaction."

I have one word for the Break Ke Baad trailer: YAWN.

* Apparently Sajid Nadiawala wasn't too thrilled either, as he tried to prevent the release of the trailer with Anjaana Anjaani.

ENOUGH WITH THE "YOUTHFUL" ROM-COMS! I blame the success of Jaane Tu for all of these boring, Hollywood-style films that have been cycling through the last couple of years. The reason I stopped watching so Hollywood is that I was tired of following the on-screen adventures of over-privledged youngsters (or "youngsters" *cough* Saif in Love Aaj Kal) with nothing more important on their minds than flighty romance and finding "the one" to the exclusion of all else in their lives. THAT TROPE IS HORRIBLY DULL.

Do I care if Imran and Deepika's characters hook up or not? No. No, I do not. What about Ranbir and Priyanka? Nope. Do I care about SUPERSTAR Rajni beating up rowdies and robots? Yes. Very much so.

A: We do have an image in mind since childhood about Robots who can do things for us. But here Shankar has redefined Robot through the medium of cinema and made him into a character having human traits so you start developing feelings for this Robot and Sana feels the same for this Robot in the film.

Sanjay Singh said, “Aamir Khan is a very talented and respected actor. His film Peepli Live is good but to say that it is deserving of India’s entry to the Oscars is open to debate. While the subject of farmer’s suicide was dealt with in an interesting way, the media issue has been seen in some 100 odd movies these days.

There was nothing new in it. Only merit plays an important role in the selection of films for the ‘Best Foreign Language’ film category in the Oscars.”

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Every once in a while Indian films percolate up into the Western media consciousness and 99% of the time, the reaction is something like - “LOL! They are different from us and make no sense. LOL!” So, to stem the tide of ignorant articles about the upcoming Endhiran here is yet another of Filmi Girl’s Guides For Lazy American Journalists (TM)!

So, you, Straw Person Journalist have been assigned to go see Endhiran or at least to write about it. Why don't you ask me some questions!Q: So, lol, this Bollywood movie is hilarious, right?

A: Actually, Endhiran is not a Bollywood film - it is in Tamil. The Tamil language film industry is based in Chennai, not Mumbai, and is sometimes referred to as “Kollywood.” While we in the West sometimes like to view all popular Indian cinema as a monolith of song-dance called Bollywood, in reality, there are many regional movie industries and all of them more popular than Bollywood in their respective regions.Endhiran is kind of unusual in that it is going to be released to all of India in a variety of dubbed version. It will be Robo in Telugu and Robot in Hindi. Your best chances of seeing a subtitled print are with the Hindi version, so please check your local listings carefully or call ahead to make sure your version is subtitled.Q: Okay, so lol, this Tamil movie is hilarious, right? What is up with that old guy? Is he considered, like, really hot in India because that's messed up.

A: The star of Endhiran is a phenomenon of cinema named Rajnikanth. There is no Hollywood equivalent to Rajnikanth, although you might come close if you imagine an all-powerful combination of Sly Stallone and Robert De Niro. Rajnikanth is a much-beloved, highly-respected actor who can still command a screen at the ripe old age of 61. Remember that movie The Expendables from this summer that had all those older action heroes in it? Do ladies find them hot? Maybe, maybe not. But they were undoubtedly charismatic and could definitely kick some butt. Think of Rajnikanth in the same way.

Q: [taken verbatim from an American site, BTW] Robot is directed by Shankar (though it's such a common name I'm not 100% sure if this is the same Shankar who crafted the hugely popular 3 Idiots, though it seems like a reasonable bet). “

A: That is one bet you lose, my friend. Endhiran is directed by Shankar but 3 Idiots was directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who also made Munnabhai MBBS (an excellent introduction to Bollywood if you are interested.) Shankar is known for making very mythic, very crazy, very good films, such as Anniyan, which I reviewed here.

Shankar was rumored to be directing the Tamil remake of 3 Idiots but who knows if that will happen.Q: Dang, Aishwarya Rai is HOT!

A: Yes. Yes, she is. She has also matured into a very fine actress.Q: So, this is like India’s first sci-fi movie, right?

A: Well, no, it’s not. There was a disastrous film called Love Story 2050 a few years ago, along with the aliens in Koi Mil Gaya, super hero magic in Mr. India, and that is just off the top of my head. Indian films don’t really have ‘genres’ like we do here - and science doesn’t have the stigma it does here - so you are quite likely to find all sorts of sci-fi type things like robots or secret formulas in films we wouldn’t consider sci-fi. The other to keep in mind is that Indian films tend to more concerned with the here and now, as far as social problems go, and tend not to create horrific dystopias that exist in some alternate reality like Terminator or something. They may exaggerate things for dramatic effect but the problems are real - corrupt politicos, callous businessmen, violent gangsters, and ethnic cleansing. With things like that happening outside your door, you need a hero who can beat up a shark (like Prahbas does in Chatrapathi) or who can fight a robot cobra (or whatever it is Rajnikanth is doing in the Endhiran trailer) in your neighborhood, not in some alternate sphere of existance.

Q: Okay, okay - I get it! All my generalizations are wrong and I shouldn't call a Tamil film Bollywood and I will refer to Rajnikanth only as Superstar Rajnikanth. But what can I expect when I, clueless Westerner, go to see the movie?

A: If you are lucky, something like this will happen in your theater when Superstar Rajnikanth makes his first appearance:Q: That is awesome but not what I meant... what will the movie be like?

A: Oh, okay. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

The most important thing to remember is that this is not a movie made with Western audiences in mind and the storytelling will almost certainly not fit into your preconceived notions of how a movie works. There will probably be plenty of song breaks where the action is moved to a fantasy setting - this does not (necessarily) mean that the characters are actually in Peru or outer space or whatever. Think of it as a metaphor for... something or (even better) just enjoy it without trying to make linear sense of the song placement. Songs happen. You will have to deal with it.

There may also be a comedic subplot. You will know when this is happening because a totally different set of characters will show up and interact only tangentially with the main characters while doing lots of pratfalls and making horrible double-entendres and puns. This will all be accompanied by really loud sound effects. The comedic subplot may or may not affect the main plot.

There will be an intermission. Use this time to go to the bathroom and get some snacks.Q: But why--?

A: Look, let me just stop you right there. It's better not to ask why. This is just the way Indian movies are. Why are Hollywood movies so short and why are all the songs in the background? That's weird!Q: That's not weird. That is how movies-- oh, I see your point.

A: Good! Thank you for being such a good sport, Straw Person Journalist!

So, a few images from the shooting of the Salman/Katrina/Akshay number have either been released or leaked out or whatever! The point is that the song is called "Walla Walla" and it is going to have Salman and Akshay fighting over Katrina and Farah Khan has incorporated some of their Mujhse Shaadi Karogi choreography into it.

In other words, Farah Khan is making this movie specifically for me.

(This one also features the most miserable boy on the planet. And who is that auntie?)

(Suspiciously, he perks up when talking with Katrina. Get in line, chotu!)

Good morning, good morning!! Is it Friday yet?! Just a couple more days until Endhiran and I know you all are as excited as I am!

Even though the film is only showing in Tamil with no subtitles for $20, I might still try to go. At the very least, I think I will write a nice guide to Endhiran for lazy American journalists because I have a feeling we'll be seeing some puff pieces on how 'wacky' the film is.

Anyways, let's hit the GOSSIP!

* A certain section of the Hollywood blogosphere is upset that the censor boards wants a gay sex scene cut from Dunno Y.... I actually have another guide for lazy American journalists on this topic that I wrote and never posted... hmm... maybe I should revamp it and post that one, too. (Explaining, for example, that even heterosexual sex is given the stink-eye from the censor board.)

* Case in point, there will be no boy-on-girl kiss in the Telugu remake of Love Aaj Kal.

* Farah Khan is now on twitter! So far she has posted some gems like this:

Says Harbhajan Mann: ""I think to some extent Bollywood is also responsible for the fading popularity of the genre. The film industry has hijacked Punjabi music. There are so many films that have Punjabi songs. And if you have actors like Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif dancing to Punjabi beats, who would see our songs."

He later goes on to bitch about how in Hollywood, music and films are separate and if it was that way in Bollywood, he would be super-duper popular. This is one thing I hate - the idea that IN HOLLYWOOD they do things right only. You can't force people to like you and you can't force people to listen to your music. If the masses want Akshay and Katrina dancing to "Jee Karda" then that is what they will buy tickets to see. Commerce is a tough mistress but if you want to be a professional musician, you can't sit around whining about how Bollywood has stolen your audience.

* Shahid Kapoor has been tapped to play the reluctant fundamentalist in Mira Nair's film of the same title - it's about a Pakistani man in America after 9/11.

When asked about this embarrassing incident, Katrina shrugged it off with a laugh, “It’s true. Ali looked at me quite strangely at the party last week. What’s the big deal? He’s new to Bollywood. It will take him time to know everyone. I’ve been here for four years. I still don’t know everyone.”

Good girl, Kat!

* Is Shiney Ahuja going to be part of Big Boss 4?! OMG! If I was one of the ladies in that house, I would be complaining really loudly to my manager right about now.

Two reviews for Anjaana Anajaani make it sound like the Indian equivalent of one of those Hollywood films where the lead couple traipse around through exotic locales being trendy, angsty, and over-privileged. I've got one word: PASS.

A love story described by some of the film’s creators as both the “greatest” and “strangest,” Anjaana Anjaani is not your everyday romantic comedy fair. The film is actually precipitated by thoughts (and plans) of suicide of two young people, played by Ranbir and Piggy Chops, who struggle to find any traction in their respective professional and love lives.

However, story writer Mamta Anand and screenplay writers Advaita Kala and Siddharth Anand reserve the best for the post-interval portions, when the story moves from New York to Las Vegas to San Francisco. The road trip and the varied experiences and emotions they share make it a compelling watch. Of course, the story tends to get a bit predictable towards the end, but come on, don't we like our love stories to have happy endings?

Siddharth Anand has handled the subject with flourish. Besides, the film is not merely rich in substance, but is equally alluring when it comes to style and overall look. The DoP [Ravi K. Chandran] plays a major role here. The film bears a magnificent look all through and the panoramic and exotic locales of America only make every frame stand out. The costumes - Mamta Anand for Ranbir and Manish Malhotra for Priyanka - are trendy.

And there are only two characters - no mummy, daddy, friends, etc... what is the point?

* Shut up about The North Pole Italian Job, Neil Nitin Mukesh. You can't make yourself relevant by spamming us with news stories - if that were the case than Rakhi Sawant would the Actress of the Year.

"The Indian character would have a far greater depth. The Hindi remake will retain the fun and thrills but we saw only one side of Ed Norton in the original. However, my character is 100 times meaner than him."

Look, bro, you missed it! Remakes of Hollywood are so 2010, next year it's all about building on the success of Dabangg.

* And, speaking of remakes nobody wants or needs, Karan Johar has writer's block. I guess they weren't showing anything good on the plane from London to Mumbai. Ah, well, at least that means we won't be getting that remake of The Proposal starring Madhuri Dixit and Ranbir Kapoor. (Actually, I want that remake - Karan, darling, get on it, hmm?)

* In more remake news, the Telugu 3 Idiots is using sync sound, which should be interesting!

“This is the first time in my entire career of 25 years and 81 films that a film of mine has got into censor trouble.And I am not amused. On the one hand I am accused of selling-out to mindless comedies.None of my supposedly mindless comedies have ever got into trouble. On the other hand when I make an issue-based film it gets stuck.How will I do something meaningful when our moral guardians don’t seem to believe in my vision?”

He says the violence is necessary to tell the story and I believe him.

* Tusshar has not fought with his sister and they have not parted ways professionally. Actually, I bet there was a fight and it went down like this:

Tusshar: I want to be more popular! Why didn't you put me in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai?

Ekta: Be a better actor and I will put you in popular movies. And stop whining, I'm letting you do that movie with your new 'friend' Sendhil Ramamurthy and I threw you that party. Now, go practice your dance steps for Golmaal 3 and let me work.

* Akshay Kumar did this thing for free at the Hong Kong charity fundraiser.

* Aamir Khan puts in a good word for Salman Khan at the Dabangg success party.

"I am very happy that Salman's Dabangg got such a big success. That's why I have come to give him a hug and congratulate him. I would always pray that his film makes 10 times more than what 3 Idiots did."

Monday, September 27, 2010

My darling Bollyblogosphere people!! I'm sure you noticed I didn't have a post this morning - well, you can blame the power company because our power was out when I got up. And I assure you I was very cranky about it.

Now, since I'm going to be going through the gossip soon enough tomorrow morning, here are a few tidbits to tide you through...

The Special Upodcast episode on Dabangg, with special guest star... ME is up!

This profile of SUPERSTAR RAJINIKANTH is pretty much the greatest thing I read all day.

At 61 years old, Rajinikanth has made more than 150 movies in India, and he isn't even a proper Bollywood star. He works in the Tamil film industry, Bollywood's poorer Southern cousin, best-known for its ace cinematographers and gritty crime dramas. But whereas Bollywood stars may have devoted fans, Rajinikanth is considered beyond reproach, beyond criticism, beyond good or bad. Ask Bolly-fans about their favorite stars, and they'll spout the typical griping—Hrithik is a little boy, Shah Rukh Khan is spoiled, Amitabh Bachchan wears a toupee—but mention Rajinikanth, and their eyes light up. He is so rich, he does so many good deeds, his films are all No. 1 superhits. Rajinikanth is not just some filmstar, they insist. Rajinikanth is a "real man."

The whole thing is excellent but even better are the comments - some people seem to be truly offended for no reason that I can see, since the entire profile praises SUPERSTAR RAJINIKANTH for being super awesome and having excellent entrance songs, except that the author isn't writing in the style I like to call Bollywood Purple Prose (you know, where everything is "superb" and "a no. 1 superhit" and nothing even slightly negative is mentioned.)

And I'm digging Punjabi By Nature's "Kaun Nachdi!" Check out this video...!!

I am NOT digging this picturization or this song - which sum up almost everything I hate about contemporary Bollywood right now... messy "faux-casual" club scene dance moves; comedy dancing from the male lead and "sexy" dancing from the female; crappy Hinglish lyrics; and a really mediocre Western pop beat.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

I'm sure you all noticed I missed yesterday's gossip post and for that I apologize. You see, I had these grand plans for the day. I was going to get up, get dressed, and head over to the DMV to get my driver's license renewed. (Some stupid bouncer was hassling me because it expires soon and I don't quite look 30 - even though I AM 30.) Anyways, this plan did not quite come to fruition. Oh, I got up and got dressed and headed over to the DMV but blocking my progress was a 'fun walk' that blocked off the major street through my part of town. WTF?!

Although Stuff White People Like has yet to cover 'fun walks,' let me assure you that apparently there is nothing white people like more than to block off a major road - inconveniencing everybody else trying to run errands - so they can walk down it while wearing special t-shirts and feeling wholesome. I walk that road to work everyday and I don't need a special t-shirt to do it.

As a result of this 'fun walk,' by the time I got to the DMV, the line was out the door and there was no parking. Also, I was extremely crabby.

Meaning - no gossip post yesterday AND no new driver's license.

(The first thing I do when I establish my benevolent dictatorship is to ban all 'fun walks' - the second thing I'm going to do is bring my kittens to work with me.)

BUT NOW IT'S TIME FOR GOSSIP!

* Yuvraaj Parasher, the lead actor in the groundbreaking film Dunno y... na jaane kyun, which is about a gay couple, has been disowned by his family and thrown out of the family home.

Yuvraaj's father Satish Parasher told BT, "I feel what he has done is against the culture and tradition of our country and it challenges the purity of the relationship between a man and a woman. He kept us in the dark right from when he signed the film and told us that he is acting with a girl. When we heard about the poster and the things he has done in the film, we were shocked, hurt and humiliated. People will make fun of us and we won't be able to live peacefully ever again."

* Akshay, Saif, and Salman are all fighting over the remake rights to Don Seenu.

When asked who among the three Bollywood stars fits the role of the protagonist the best, [the director of the original Gopichand] Malineni says, "Both Salman and Akshay are great entertainers. I think both can play the role very well." Sorry Saif.

As a footnote, the director is quick to add, "The hero of my film, Ravi Teja, is known as the South Indian Akshay Kumar." Sorry Sallu.

(Actually, all three of them are too old but if I had to pick, I'd pick Akshay, too, because it is a comic underdog role.)

All of them have been very special. I can not name one or the others will feel ignored…(laughs). Some of the brightest stars in the industry were introduced by me, like Tina Munim, Zeenat Aman. I love them all, they have all been wonderful.

"Rajni sir, like Pa (Amitabh) is a professional and humility personified. There was no age factor. They are both legendary actors due to their body of work. Hence, their cinema becomes exciting to the viewers. Rajni sir's humility is a lesson to learn," Aishwarya told PTI.

"She is now very experienced. In Jeans we had to experiment a lot...which we didn't have to do in Robot and I am able to see her growth in acting. She is so hard working...she works from 7 in the morning till pack-up time. She is not only concerned about her role but is keen about other techniques and other aspects of movie-making... she is now well aware of that."

* This is the most-likely speculation on Heroine that I've read. Madhur Bhandarkar is SUCH A CREEPER and the way his films have been going... I think he's a one-trick pony who's trick has been played. I fully support Bebo backing out of this mess and producing her own film about a Marilyn Monroe type of character.

* Divya Dutta tells what she has coming up - Hisss and some other very interesting sounding projects.

"For me, it’s more than just being desirous or having a hot-bod. Being sexy is not a lipstick that you can just apply. It is what you are, and stems from your confidence and convictions. No one can take away that from you."

ILU KANGANA!

* Was Anjaana Anjaani (the stupid title song of which I cannot get out of my head) based on a Telugu film?

* The Mumbai Mirror talks with the first woman to win the National Award for cinematography!

Anjuli says that it's too early to have found a signature style, and that she has a long way to go. She doesn't delve [dwell? FG] on her influences either, that she doesn't believe in people emulating each other.

The girl from Lucknow decided to specialise in cinematography as it was the perfect medium for her to express her creativity

According to Vivek, getting the physical demeanour of Ravi right was not tough, but it was his attitude and the body language that was difficult. “There was this shine that he had in his eyes that I had to reflect, his attitude bordered on the arrogant and his vulnerability because of his deep-rooted emotional connect with the people. It was after a lot of research, discussions with Ramu, and reading about Ravi that I could imbibe his characteristics,” says Vivek.

* It may not be Deepika or Kat with Akshay in Joker but SONAKSHI SINHA! WOO HOO! (I love Kat and all but this would be an interesting pairing for sure!)

Also, there was this little tidbit in the article: A source close to Deepika says, "Deepika hasn't even been approached for Joker. It isn't as if she isn't keen to work with Akshay, Farah and Shirish. But she is disturbed by reports because none of them have approached her. So the question of accepting or rejecting the film doesn't even arise."

O RLY?! Then who was planting the stories about how Shirish and Akshay were trying to break the news to Kat that Deepika was doing the film?!!!! Between this and the false reports of an argument on the Tees Maar Khan sets, somebody really has it in for Katrina Kaif. The question is who... (Any tipsters are welcome to e-mail me at filmi.girl (at) gmail (dot) com with information!! I promise to keep it as a blind item only.)

So, what is the as-yet-untitled film with powerhouse performer Vikram, produced by Mohan Natarajan of Rajakaliamman Films, all about? “It's a performance-based subject, and Vikram sir is preparing hard. His dedication is, in fact, getting me nervous. There's more responsibility to deliver,” he says.

OMG! A PERFORMANCE-BASED FILM! THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING. Vikram for president!!!!111!!1!

* It seems like ages ago that Sanju-baba tried to become a politician but the courts haven't forgotten. The hearings for a case lodged against him at the time is being pushed back to the end of October.